PETA Members Strip And Converge On Spanish Embassy To Protest Against Bullfighting

For Immediate Release:
2 July 2007

Contact:
Lauren Bowey 020 7357 9229, ext 230
Karen Chisholm 020 7357 9229, ext 229

Activists Will Paint Their Nearly Nude Bodies With Flags From Around the Globe to Tell Spain, ‘The Whole World Is Watching’

London – Nearly nude, with their bodies painted to resemble the flags of their respective countries, international members of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) Europe will converge outside the Spanish Embassy in London on Monday to protest against Spain’s refusal to ban bullfighting. The protesters, representing more than a dozen countries including Spain, Britain, Portugal, France and Australia – will hold a banner reading, “The World Is Watching: Stop the Bloody Bullfights”. The action will take place just three days before PETA Europe’s sixth annual Running of the Nudes, a fun and humane alternative to the Running of the Bulls. The Running of the Nudes will take place in Pamplona on 5 July, two days before the bull run. Last year, the nude run attracted more than 1,000 participants.

Date: Monday, 2 July
Time: 1 pm sharp
Place: Spanish Embassy, 39 Chesham Place, SW1X 8SB

Worldwide opposition to bullfighting is mounting. According to recent surveys, the vast majority of Europeans – including 72 per cent of Spaniards – have no interest in bullfighting. In 2004, the Barcelona City Council declared Barcelona an anti-bullfighting city in an effort to eventually ban this cruel blood sport, and 40 other Spanish towns – including Torello, Calldetenes and Olot – have followed suit.

Every year, more than 40,000 bulls are slaughtered during Spanish bullfights. The bulls are often intentionally debilitated with tranquilisers, laxatives or beatings and have petroleum jelly rubbed into their eyes in order to impair their vision. Lances are driven into the animals’ back and neck muscles, causing them to suffer significant blood loss before they are stabbed to death. Their deaths frequently entail repeated stabbings, and sometimes the animals are still conscious when their spinal cords are severed.
“Tormenting and butchering animals for ‘entertainment’ is straight out of the Dark Ages”, says PETA Europe Director Poorva Joshipura. “The whole world is waiting for Spain to step into the 21st century and ban bullfights.”

For more information about bullfights, please visit RunningOfTheNudes.com. Broadcast-quality video footage of past Running of the Nudes events is available upon request.